Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City asked one of its executives to turn over to the hospital the nearly $1.4 million stake in a biotech company he received for representing the hospital on its board, according to ProPublica.
Here are six things to know:
1. As compensation for representing Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center on Y-mAbs Therapeutics' board, Gregory Raskin, MD, vice president of technology development at Memorial Sloan Kettering, received stock options whose value jumped when the startup recently went public. Dr. Raskin oversees hospital ventures with for-profit companies, according to the report.
2. Dr. Raskin's vested stock options are worth about $675,000 and stock options that will vest in the future are worth an additional $616,000. He also personally purchased shares at a discounted price that are now worth about $106,000 more than he paid for them. Memorial Sloan Kettering has an 8.45 percent equity stake in Y-mAbs that is worth $73 million.
3. A hospital spokesperson told ProPublica that Dr. Raskin fully disclosed his ties to the biotech company, and that he brought the matter to the attention of hospital leadership on Sept. 21. In an email to ProPublica, Dr. Raskin said the compensation he received for working with Y-mAbs "is being committed to Memorial Sloan Kettering and the amazing work we do."
4. Most research institutions and cancer centers have policies that prohibit employees from accepting personal compensation when they represent their organization on corporate boards. However, Memorial Sloan Kettering only recently implemented such a prohibition.
5. Under Memorial Sloan Kettering's proposed policy, Dr. Raskin and executives in similar roles, are prohibited from personally profiting from serving on corporate boards. All proceeds will revert back to the hospital and its research, according to the report.
6. The hospital changed its policy after José Baselga, MD, PhD, medical oncologist, physician-in-chief and CMO of Memorial Sloan Kettering, resigned in September after reports surfaced that he failed to disclose significant financial ties to the drug industry and other healthcare companies in more than 100 research articles.
Access the full ProPublica article here.
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